Joan de Valence: The Life and Influence of a Thirteenth-Century Noblewoman

Abstract

Valence-Munchensy (ca. 1229/30-1307), sent a letter to St. Albans to request William' s money, which was stored there. Unfortunately Joan' s wax seal appended to the letter had melted and was unreadable, resulting in the monks' refusal to return the money (97). One might consider this episode a bad omen, demonstrating the limits of Joan' s authority, but Linda Mitchell's compelling study shows that Joan was a capable ruler with a strong hold over family affairs, dynastic politics, and the administration of property. Joan "inherited one of the wealthiest and largest estates in England" (2), and her marriage was arranged by King Henry III who chose his youngest half-brother, William de Valence, as her husband. As a matter of fact, her seal testifies to her political position, not only because it was attached to official documents granting property, but also because she was styled as "S' Johanne dñe d' Penbroc uxor' W' d Valencia" (57 and fig. 1). This reveals Joan' s impressive matrilineal descent from the Marshal Earls of Pembroke-via her grandmother Isabella de Clare, countess of Pembroke-and emphasizes her affiliation with another powerful dynasty through her marriage to William, son of Isabella of Angoulême and Hugh XI de Lusignan. Mitchell's book consists of four chapters with well-chosen titles, which narrate Joan's life chronologically. Throughout, I was struck by the constant disputes over properties, which demonstrate the importance of landholdings to all parties involved, including women, as well as the significance of written documents to support or undermine claims. An overview of Joan' s properties is given in appendix 2, and this is very useful in order to comprehend where they were located (England, Wales, and Ireland). The overall impression is that Joan was a busy and strong-willed woman who was not afraid to pursue her family' s rights-including those of her children-at the expense of her coheirs. Mitchell further underscores the value of landed wealth and its accompanying strategic locations by discussing Goodrich Castle, located at Joan' s borderlands. Its rebuilding has usually been attributed to either her husband, William, or their son, Aymer, but Mitchell convincingly argues for Joan' s involvement and by doing so she adds to the discussion about women's patronage, agency, and power. Within this context it is surprising that Mitchell uses the word "influence" in her title without defining it in the introduction. While Joan' s influence